Phillips, Chaney among 12 released by Eagles

Kenny Phillips couldn’t stay healthy and the Eagles apparently got tired of waiting on him by releasing the safety Sunday.

Phillips was one of 12 players let go as the Eagles trimmed their roster to 76. The roster has to be at 75 by 4 p.m. Tuesday, but the Eagles can get there by placing linebacker Phillip Hunt on injured reserve. If not, they’ll have to cut another player.

Linebacker Jamar Chaney was another of those released. Chaney had spent the last three seasons with the Eagles, but he became expendable once they committed to switching to a 3-4 scheme. Chaney started every game in 2011, and five games last season.

But Phillips was by far the biggest name.

The Eagles signed him to a non-guaranteed contract last spring after he spent the first five seasons of his career with the Giants. He was a former first-round pick for New York.

His knees, however, were a constant source of problems. Phillips played in just seven games last season, and he had to take days off from time to time during the spring organized team activities to rest his knee.

It was Phillips’ quadriceps that kept him off the practice field the last two weeks, causing him to sit out the last two preseason games.

Eagles coach Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Bill Davis had often said that if Phillips was healthy, he could compete for a starting job at safety. But that never happened.

Interestingly, the Eagles kept all five quarterbacks that they brought to training camp. That could be in part because they probably won’t play Michael Vick and perhaps Nick Foles in the final preseason game Thursday against the New York Jets.